Monthly Archives: April 2014

One can have no inkling about approaching a den of ‘black diamond’ in Meghalaya unless he really lands there. The atmosphere, the roads, the topography show no signs. If there are no wells (of coal) or dumping visible, there is no chance one imagine that the very earth he is standing is being constantly dug some feet under through ‘rat holes’. Coal mining elsewhere is different. Open-cast or so-called scientific mining (if rat-hole mining is not scientific, as being said so) allows a whole hill to be dug out as can be noticed in Ledo-Margherita coal belt in upper Assam. Commuters can smell the coal in the air kilometres before actually reaching the coal den. The atmosphere remains covered with thick black dust, day and night. The reason behind comparing the open-cast mining and rat-hole mining is the recent order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) slapping a blanket ban on rat-hole and ‘illegal’ coal mining in the entire state of Meghalaya. The order is unprecedented, insensitive. There is no doubt of existence of a mafia in the coal trade which is the case with almost every flourishing trade. A huge section of people in coal-rich Jaintia Hills, the region where commercial coal mining started in early seventies, are highly dependent on the coal trade. It is not only the coal mafia who are befitted from the trade, as irresponsibly stated by the NGT without bothering to know the ground reality. The trade is entirely manual, requiring a huge work force. It should, however, not be the NGT’s lookout that the work force mostly consists of migrant labourers coming from Assam and some illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Nepal. Most of the transporters – hundreds of coal-laden trucks ply everyday to Assam and Bangladesh – are from the local communities. How will the government suddenly implement such an order that affects lives of thousands, if not lakhs, of people? The NGT’s concern is genuine. Many rivers especially in Jaintia Hills are ‘dead’ now due to ill impact of the coal mining. Villages in Assam’s Dima Hasao district in the downstream of Myntdu river must be bearing the brunt of coal mining without getting any benefit of the lucrative trade. People in Jaintia Hills, who are now used to drinking mineral water, are either not bothered or do not want to discuss reasons of depleting water sources. It would mean confronting a huge section of people in the trade that includes some high and mighty. The government did precious little all these years to save the water resources and now it cannot hastily implement the ban. Such total ban is not sustainable. There are such bans on forest felling, sand mining. The results are for everyone to see.

It’s a huge embarrassment for Meghalaya. The state capital Shillong has never faced such long hours of power cut perhaps since it was connected with electricity. The eight-hour-long load shedding is a tight slap on the state government’s oft-repeated claims about the state’s capacity to produce over 3,000 MW of power. The reality is that the state is not even producing one tenth of its power requirement of 600 MW. Till February, the state’s biggest and NE’s oldest hydro-electric power plant at Umiam produced only 40 MW against its installed capacity of 185 MW. The situation is worse now since there was hardly any significant rainfall in the past three months. This is the necessary evil of hydro power.

The so-called green power is deceiving as far as the volume is concerned, let alone the other disastrous and lone-term affects on environment, ecology and human lives. The power plant may never produce an amount of power equal to its installed capacity. Production figure is likely to go near the installed capacity mark only during the peak rainy season. There is no guarantee how long that peak period would last – one month, two months or three months, but certainly not more. The rest of the year, the plant may produce half of its installed capacity and the level would make a nosedive during the winter months. The run-off-the-river Myntdu-Leshka project of 126 MW was producing just 6 MW in February last! This situation is more relevant in the isolated Meghalaya plateau with no glacier support to sustain the water flow in the rivers unlike the Himalayas.

The solution to the power woes likes in the vast mineral resources in the state. Though it might sound anti-environment, a thermal plant to be run on cheaply available coal can make a lot of difference in Meghalaya’s power scene. One such single plant would not cause any more pollution than a couple of other industries which are throwing up tonnes of smoke and dust into the sky every day. The state already has a proposal to set up one thermal plant at coal-rich Nongalbibra in Garo Hills, but it has not taken off for reasons best known to all concerned. The present crisis of power should not make the government desperate to make martyrs of more rivers. It should rather open its eyes to look towards alternative means, which will generate more alternative employment because it involves the state’s main mineral resource – coal.

Crimes by migrants, who are hard to be tracked, are a major issue across the world. They are preferred over locals for petty works by employers everywhere. They are a huge work force available at a cheap price. Besides the cheap labour, another advantage for employers with such migrant workers is the least accountability. The employer never holds the risk of being questioned by relatives of the worker in case something goes wrong with the latter during the work. Migrant labourers – be it India or the US – always lack documents to support their identity or nationality. This disadvantage pushes them into exploitation by the employers. They end up working for less as they have no other option. No employer would buy local labour force if the same job can be done at cheaper price by migrant workers. The only hurdle the employer faces is when workers commit crimes, which is easy for them for not having proper record of identity and address. It is very hard for the police to track them on the basis of records available with the employer. Shillong police are in the hunt for a rapist who was a construction worker and the only clue the police have now is his name ‘Prem’!

It’s a huge challenge for the police to check crimes committed by migrant workers, thanks to the contractors’ and employers’ apathy in obtaining labour license before engaging them in the work. But the problem is more complex than it seems. An easy solution is hard to come by because there are thousands of employers in Meghalaya enjoying the benefit of cheap labour from the migrant workers. They, including the powers that be, can make the migrants work for less citing they did not hold proper documents. For poor migrants, something is better than nothing. Imagine a day when every worker in the state will hold a labour license. There will be no migrant worker with dubious or doubtful identity. The result –construction cost will skyrocket, which, in turn, will affect the economy as a whole. Rather than adopting bullying tactics against the migrant workers, greater emphasis should be laid on educating the employers on the need to employ more and more local workers as well.

In India, Nepalese or Gurkhas are hardly seen as foreign community. The community is scattered all over India, especially in the North-east and North Bengal. Their settlements are seen even in remotest parts of the region. Acceptability of the Gurkhas in India can be gauged from the fact the Indian Army has an entire regiment named after the community. They can easily adapt to the culture and tradition of the local communities. They have immense contribution in developing the dairy sector of the region’s states. Baring North Bengal where the community is fighting for greater autonomy, they are hardly seen in collision course in other parts of the country. Another exception is Meghalaya where the community is targeted whenever there is a movement against non-tribal ‘outsiders’. The community now faces a similar crisis as the outlawed HNLC has served ‘quit notices’ to Nepali settlers especially those living in the border areas.

Meghalaya, especially the Khasi-Jaintia Hills region, has seen several pro-tribal movements seeking to oust non-tribal settlers. Lives were lost and properties damaged during these agitations and Nepalese bore a major brunt of the wrath of indigenous tribals. Bengali, Bihari, Marwari, Punjabi and Assamese people were also targeted during the racial violence. There were isolated attacks on Nepalese in the aftermath of Langpih killings in 2010 when four Khasi villagers died in firing by Assam police in the wake of a clash with the Nepali settlers. The area is known as Lumpi in Assam, a testimony of the decades-long boundary dispute. The community was served with ‘quit notices’ by pressure groups and even traditional bodies in many areas, causing exodus of people.

After four years of calm, the same crisis looms over the community in Meghalaya. Lack of development in the border areas is the prime reason for such kind of crises. Minor rifts and tension often fail to reach the authorities. Even if the authorities are aware of such things, they are often ignored, resulting in accumulation of anger. Besides, there are groups with vested interests hell bent on creating communal rifts. The HNLC’s diktat is nothing but a desperate attempt to win back some lost place in the hearts of the indigenous Khasi-Jaintia people. Unarmed pressure groups should now make clear their stand on the ‘quit notice’ to Nepalese, and not just play the ‘wait and watch’ game. Political parties, especially those who cater to regional sentiment, too should come out and appeal to people not to pay any heed to such absurd ‘orders’ coming from the soil of Bangladesh.

There is calm – fate of the Lok Sabha election candidates in Meghalaya is now locked in the EVMs. Political leaders are taking some rest from their hectic campaign schedules. Even government employees, especially those deployed in election duty, have heaved a sigh of relief. It’s a big relief for the police force too as the voting passed off peacefully. But, amid this lull one party is spending sleepless nights, indicating a storm ahead. Everything is not alright in the state’s oldest Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP). The party’s internal crisis came to the fore after its senior leader Fenela Lyngdoh Nonglait, also a niece of party supremo Hopingstone Lyngdoh, voiced her support to United Democratic Party (UDP) candidate Paul Lyngdoh. The crisis turned deeper when Hopingstone overturned a decision made by two party units to cancel her primary membership for the ‘anti-party’ activity.

HSPDP with its four MLAs in the legislative assembly and seven MDCs in the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) is a force to reckon with in the state’s politics. The crisis would not have happened in the HSPDP had the main opposition party UDP not fielded its working president Paul Lyngdoh as a candidate for the Lok Sabha election. There was hardly any bad blood between the two regional parties till a few months ago although they had failed to strike a pre-poll alliance before the recently-concluded election to the KHADC. After long deliberations and negotiations, they formed the All Regional Parties’ Alliance (ARPA) along with the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) to rule the KHADC. The ARPA boat is now rocking, thanks to Paul’s rivalry with HSPDP vice-president Ardent Basaiawmoit and also with KHNAM, a party formed by the former.

With Basaiawmoit and Paul standing on opposite poles, it has been quite a difficult task for both the parties to reconcile and prevent the ARPA boat from sinking within months of its formation. While HSPDP leading the coalition executive committee (EC) in KHADC would fight till its last breadth to keep the flock together, the two other parties, especially UDP, might not be bothered equally. UDP’s position in the EC would remain the same if it severed ties with HSPDP and embraced Congress, which is sitting in the opposition despite winning the maximum number of seats, three more than HSPDP’s seven MDCs. The fate of ARPA now entirely depends on the HSPDP’s ability to solve its internal rift and the UDP’s next political strategy.

The high turnout in the Lok Sabha polls in five tribal-dominated hilly states of the North-east once again proved their ‘loyalty to India’, despite separatist groups thriving there in the name of their anti-Indian stand. Nagaland, where the rebel group NSCN-IM is said to have been running a parallel government for years, voted at least 82 per cent. Yet, the figure is far below its 2009 record of 90 per cent. The state has many other rebel groups with NSCN-K being the most prominent, after the IM faction. Manipur has already earned the rare distinction of having the maximum number, nearly 50, of militant outfits. Among the five states, Meghalaya ranks third in militancy and the trend is rising, especially in Garo Hills region, unlike the Nagaland and Manipur.

There has been a ritual in these states to call election boycott and announce bandh on the polling day. This year was, however, exception barring the Khasi-Jaintia region of Meghalaya comprising six districts where the proscribed HNLC called a 12-hour bandh. But the voters braved the bandh recording at least 66 per cent turnout. The figure even breached 80 per cent mark in some areas severely affected by militancy in Garo Hills region. The ULFA, one of the most prominent rebel groups of the region, is conspicuous this time by not calling any election boycott.

The steady rise in voter turnout in these states shows the people either lost their belief in these separatist groups or increasingly eager to be part of the country’s democratic process. While a section of the people responds to bandh calls given by these groups out of fear, there is a huge section who takes advantage the situation to skip their regular duty and yet get paid. But, very few of them want to miss the once-a-five-year opportunity to cast the vote.

It is ironic that people of these hill states, where anti-India sentiment prevails more than anywhere else, are so eager to send their representatives to the parliament. Three of the five states (Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram) have inner line permit (ILP) system, which prevents free and unrestricted entry of even Indian nationals to these states. Among the rest two, Manipur already passed an assembly resolution seeking the mechanism in the state while the Congress government in Meghalaya has been battling with the growing demand for the system ‘to prevent influx of outsiders’. By voting, a citizen reposes his trust on the democratic system, which provides the right to speak, live, move and settle anywhere in the country. People in these states must learn to embrace citizens of this country as they have done with the democracy by exercising their franchise. Voting in a democracy is not just a right; with it comes a big responsibility – to be democratic.

Choppers hit the headlines as much as they hit the skies during Indian elections. From the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to Meghalaya’s chief minister Mukul Sangma, questions over extravagance in using choppers are in the news. While Modi is criticised by Arvind Kejriwal for using choppers ‘funded’ by the country’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, the Meghalaya chief minister is in a soup for ‘violating’ the model code of conduct by using a public transport helicopter. The state government has made all out effort to save Sangma’s skin by saying the Pawan Hans helicopter was de-hired by the Meghalaya Transport Corporation (MTC) and then hired by the state Congress. For Pawan Hans, of course, it makes a business sense to rent out the chopper for Rs 50 lakh for a couple of days. But the question arises as to why the public transport vehicle was de-hired by the MTC. It seems there was an instruction from a ‘competent authority’, but no one in the government wants to come clear on the particular office from where the order came from. This clearly means there was a case of favouritism.

It was the National People’s Party (NPP) led by the chief minister’s arch rival Purno Sangma, who lodged a complaint about misuse of the chopper that ferries passengers on Shillong-Guwahati-Tura route regularly. The government and the Pawan Hans took two days to reply to the allegation. Interestingly, everyone connected to the issue washed off their hands. The Returning Officer of Tura said Pawan Hans applied for de-hiring of the chopper following it was sought by the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC). The Pawan Hans corroborated with the version adding that it would not charge the government any rent for those days when the chopper was de-hired. Compulsions of the company to provide the chopper for election campaign of a ruling party can be understood. Acceding to the government (or Congress) wish is more important for the company in view of the fact that its services were banned for a period after the tragic mishap in Arunachal Pradesh that claimed the five lives including then chief minister Dorjee Khandu in 2011.

Election is a good time for bureaucrats to prove their acumen in running the country. But, most of them being yes-men of their political masters cannot come out of their mindset even after announcement of the election when the model code comes into force. Had they been so, we would have seen a lot of “cleaning” of politics in this small period.

Alliance matters everywhere. What’s true for Indian political parties appears to work even for militant outfits. As the BJP hankers after parties in the South to bring them under the NDA banner, militant outfits are looking for new alliance in Garo Hills region of Meghalaya. Of late, the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) has been on a peace overdrive. GNLA urged militant outfits of the region to come under its banner, only to be turned down by many of them recently. For the government, it’s meaningless to hold talks with one outfit and face the music of another the next day. Knowing this, the GNLA is making offers to mend fences, especially keeping in view the upcoming district council elections.

The government’s acceptance of some names as mediators to broker peace with GNLA has already angered the Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC). The ANVC is currently leading the peace talks with the government, and possibly eyeing the major share of the “benefits”. The GNLA has already made it clear that it would not join any dialogue under ANVC. But, the GNLA even failed to woo other outfits to come under its banner, making the situation more complex. Three clear divisions are already visible among the outfits even before any concrete progress of the dialogue process. It is highly doubtful whether the GHADC election set to be held in a couple of months will bring any permanent solution to the perennial problem of militancy in Garo Hills. What the government needs to focus is to make education more accessible and affordable as a long-term solution. To discourage more youth turning militants, creation of jobs is a viable option. The money to be spent on doling out so-called peace incentives to militants, many of who are seen as no holier than mere criminals, should be used in establishing small-scale industries and other employment opportunities.